Everything seems to be going well back home. No progress with the Vai family yet - it is very slow with them. We are being quite careful. Hopefully they will be able to come to some ward activities on this week. We are trying to figure out some easy cheap stuff we can make to eat - I am learning some stuff to make but if you have any ideas I would like to have some again. Orange chicken or stir fry sauce stuff sounds good, but I don't know how to make any of it. We make a lot of stir-fries anyway but I want to change up my stir fries. You might just buy it, but I can't find it! (haha). Trek should be awesome. It is such a fun thing to do. I actually remember the last Joe and Juanita reunion - it was at the park and we had air compressor bottle rockets I think and we definiltey had a sponge water fight, is that the one where it hailed like massive hail? My memory might be mixing some other trips. I remember the next time I went to that park with my friends like years later I was so confused why we would have had a reunion in Murray. I don't remember ever having another reunion like that one, so now I finally know what that was from. A new fridge for the cabin, score! Are you still going to keep our cabin fridge we have now? It just fits the cabin to me.
This Week:
This week was a pretty good week. I was sitting here trying to figure out what to write about but I couldn't really think of anything and then I realized. I am so used to the mission, it just seems all so normal, nothing crazy. Still having so many good experiences, really spiritual, really funny of course. I realized that I am a normal missionary and how great it feels to know that now.
I spend the week doing such normal stuff, that used to not be normal. Trying to visit investigators, appointments falling through, other appointments holding and having incredible lessons. Meeting members. Eating a lot of food. I introduced myself in sacrament on Sunday. Zone Conference on Friday. Receiving heaps of inspiration, Trade offs last Thursday in the Nuiean ward. Praying heaps, morning, night, before lessons, after lessons. Studying the scriptures, combined comp study on Friday with some sisters. Accounting over the phone. Seeing old companions. Trying to clean the flat. Making random meals out of the food we have left before P-day. Organizing rides to church, running away from stray dogs. Making secret handshakes with the boys at church. Attending a baptism in Samoan. Zone devotional this morning with the senior couple missionaries talking for like forever. Making mission jokes. Teasing people that they will be called to leadership next transfer. Having to say no when people ask us for permission for stuff they know is against the rules. Rushing to have fun on P-day. Testifying every single day. Talking to drunk people. Trying to work with less actives. Making friends quickly. Getting cussed out. Trying to help the zone with everything. People asking us if they got mail. Singing Happy Birthday to one of our Tongan elders. Learining a dance to perform at our activity on Friday. Going to ward council. Asking for fellowship. Nightly planning. Trying to follow the Spirit.
All of this stuff is individually something that used to be so amazing at the beginning of my misison but now it is becoming so normal. It is good and bad. It is still amazing but I am not sure if I am appreciating everything that is happening. In a lot of ways it is good. For example on Sunday it was our bishop's daughter's baptism. We had investigators come and were asked to teach the restoration while they were getting dressed. It seemed so normal and so easy where at the beginning of my mission it would have been so hard. Thinking back it was in front of about 120 people including the bishop's father who is Elder Fata, a seventy from Samoa, and the stake president. It was just so normal but when I think about it, the stuff I am doing is not normal. All that stuff I did in just one week. The mission is such an amazing experience and I am so blessed to have this opportunity.
Elder Peihopa is in NZ and has been calling and texting us all week but I haven't seen him yet. That is something that should be fun this week. We have a super busy week in the ward. This week we have, Tuesday- rescue/invite night, Wed- movie night, Thursday- family history play/workshops, Friday- Cultural Performances and dance night, Saturday- Temple Day in the morning and we have a baptism in the afternoon, Sunday- Ward Conference, Come and See fireside in the evening. I should have a lot to write about next week.
Love you,
Elder Summers
I will try and take pictures of something this week. Sorry. You hate me. :)